As the white light dissipated, the ground beneath his feet was no longer the desolate soil of the Star-Fall Gorge. Chen Gensheng took a deep breath, feeling every bone and meridian in his body grow thoroughly refreshed. The journey that had taken seven or eight days to complete upon arrival would likely take less than two days to traverse now. This sensation was truly exaggerated.

  "Is it this Ethereal Dao-Body that is so easy to use, or is the centipede corpse of my Master on my back providing the power?"

  While pondering, he once again transformed into a streak of ink-black light, galloping toward the direction of the Heavenly Threshold True Sect.

  A day and a half later.

  The dilapidated mountain gate of the Heavenly Threshold True Sect appeared in the distance. Chen Gensheng retracted his insect wings, descended from mid-air, and stood firmly before the gate. The one guarding the gate was still that same chore disciple. The disciple had been napping against the gate, but hearing the commotion, he opened his eyes impatiently.

  When he saw Chen Gensheng’s face clearly, he shuddered, and his sleepiness vanished instantly.

  "Halt! Where did this ug—er, Fellow Daoist, you look quite unfamiliar!"

  The man before him had an upright stature and an imposing aura; his cultivation was even more unfathomable, something the disciple couldn't see through at all. But this face... it truly challenged the limits of human physiology.

  Chen Gensheng ignored his fuss and strode straight into the mountain gate.

  "Why won't you listen to advice!" The chore disciple gritted his teeth and moved to block his path. "Without an identity token, no one is allowed to trespass through the mountain gate! Those are the rules!"

  Chen Gensheng stopped. His dark right eye fell quietly upon the disciple. The chore disciple felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head; his legs weakened, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.

  "Spirit Plant Garden, Elder Chen."

  Chen Gensheng fished out the sect’s iron token from his storage ring and flashed it before the disciple's eyes. The chore disciple stared at the familiar Elder token, then looked up at Chen Gensheng’s earth-shattering face; his mind turned into a total muddle. He remembered that Elder Chen from the Spirit Plant Garden was a handsome man. How long had he been gone? Was he hunted by enemies and disfigured? Or had he practiced some wicked technique and refined himself into this ghostly state?

  "Elder... Elder Chen?"

  "Begone."

  Chen Gensheng shoved him aside and stepped through the mountain gate.

  Returning to the Spirit Plant Garden in the back mountain, the pale green restriction shrouding the entire valley was still operating steadily. Passing through the restriction, a burst of wood-element spiritual qi, several times denser than the outside world, rushed toward him. The eighty-odd types of spirit plants in the garden were growing even more vibrantly than when he had left. At a glance, the medicinal fields were crisscrossed, shimmering with spiritual light, managed with perfect order.

  Beneath the Juicy-Plump Tree, a thin, small figure was crouching on the ground, carefully weeding around a Spirit-Condensing Grass. Having not seen Zhou Shu for several months, she seemed to have grown a bit taller, but her frame remained frail.

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  "The work is done well," Chen Gensheng spoke, his voice flat.

  Zhou Shu’s shoulders jerked violently, and she whipped around as if struck by lightning. When she saw Chen Gensheng’s current appearance, the medicinal hoe in her hand fell to the ground with a clang. In those eyes, fear appeared first, followed by a forced calm. The young girl bit her lower lip hard, scrambled up from the ground, lowered her head, and bowed respectfully.

  "Master."

  Chen Gensheng gave a grunt of affirmation, his right eye sweeping over her body. Fourth level of Qi Refining—not slow at all. "You have been diligent."

  Zhou Shu’s body trembled again.

  He opened his mouth, and a mixture of Soul-Devouring Corpse-Wasps and Corpse-Miasma Wasps poured out. Their numbers were so vast that they instantly obscured the massive canopy of the Juicy-Plump Tree. The girl’s face, already devoid of color, became completely frozen in place.

  Chen Gensheng paced over to Zhou Shu and spoke slowly. "In these months of absence, your duties were handled passably, and the garden is managed well. Do you know why I went out this time?"

  "I accompanied your enemy on a trip to the Star-Fall Gorge."

  She stared fixedly at Chen Gensheng, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word. Chen Gensheng acted as if he didn't see her reaction and continued unhurriedly.

  "I had no grievance or enmity with him originally. However, he grew greedy and coveted my spirit insects, even joining forces with another cultivator to make a lethal move against me." He sighed softly and shook his head. "The cultivation world is just like this—hearts are unpredictable, and the Dao-path is treacherous. I settled that debt for you along the way."

  Upon hearing this, Zhou Shu’s eyes went hollow and bewildered. She stood dazed for a long time, not knowing what to do. The enemy she thought of day and night, whom she hated so much she wished to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin—was he just dead like that? The pleasure of having her great revenge settled was nowhere to be found; instead, her heart felt empty. All that remained was an unspeakable sense of loss, light and drifting without an anchor.

  Chen Gensheng waited for a while. He didn't see the tearful gratitude he expected and felt a bit disappointed. He had wasted his breath talking to her, as if speaking to a stone.

  Zhou Shu’s body swayed. Her small, pockmarked face showed no expression, and her eyes were empty. She gave Chen Gensheng a look and then walked away.

  This disciple was taken in for no clear reason, and this revenge was settled with quite a dull finish. Better to focus on cultivation—that was more substantial.

  The next day, Zhou Shu did not come. Chen Gensheng strode toward the courtyard where the outer disciples resided. Before he reached the place, he saw the chore disciple who guarded the gate peeking and peering in his direction.

  "Elder Chen." The chore disciple hurried over and lowered his voice. "That disciple of yours... she left early this morning."

  Chen Gensheng’s footsteps paused. "Left?"

  "Yes." The chore disciple nodded repeatedly, describing it vividly. "It wasn't even light yet. She carried a small bundle alone to the mountain gate. I asked her where she was going, but she didn't say a word. She just went down the mountain without looking back."

  After finishing, the disciple carefully raised his eyes to peek at Chen Gensheng’s expression. "The Sect Leader came out of seclusion a few days ago. He specifically asked to see you... he asked... why only you returned, while Elder Zhang is nowhere to be seen."

  "Lead the way."

  Chen Gensheng dropped those three words and ignored the chore disciple thereafter. The disciple hurriedly led the way, keeping his head down, not even daring to step on Chen Gensheng’s shadow.

  From the back mountain to the main hall, one had to cross most of the sect. The disciples they met along the way, regardless of their cultivation level, recoiled in horror upon seeing Chen Gensheng and the black coffin on his back, avoiding him like the plague. A few newly entered outer disciples, standing at a distance, were whispering.

  "Which hall does this new Elder belong to? He looks so... unique."

  "Shh! Do you want to die? I heard that’s Elder Chen from the Spirit Plant Garden. He went out a while ago and came back looking like this. Who knows what suffering he endured."

  "To me, he looks even more terrifying than those Tier 3 demon beasts in the Beast Taming Hall..."

  Chen Gensheng heard these words clearly but gave them no heed. His mind was currently racing to calculate a countermeasure. When he met the Sect Leader, how should he explain?